


Knocking On Heaven's Door

by AngryCakeChids



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Death Competition, F/F, F/M, everyones a teen for plot convenience, yall gonna die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-04-17
Packaged: 2018-06-02 21:33:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6583366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngryCakeChids/pseuds/AngryCakeChids
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kokusai High School, Grade Three, Class Three

Slowly, the scenery shifted from sylvan to civil, as the bus snaked its way through the streets of the city. With the urbanised view came millions of tiny neon lights, glinting out from streetlamps and storefronts and even the dingiest bars which reminded the inhabitants inside the bus of the constellations above their heads. Chattering into their phones were sharp-suited office workers, and nearby were the smoking youths squatted on stairwells. Compared to the dark background, a man on a red motorbike stood out as he waited for the light to change; but alas, he was naught but a fleeting impression to be seen and quickly forgotten.

Ginoza Nobuchika (Boys #21, Kokusai High School, Third Year, Class Three) was staring at the nighttime scenery, allowing his mind to go empty, but he had to peer around Sasayama Mitsuru (Boys #03), who had literally fought Ginoza for the window seat, and was now rooting for something in his bag. Though the two could have been classed as close friends, Sasayama was still a great source of annoyance to Ginoza, who spent most of the time glowering at him – the reason for the glare in this instance was that somehow, the other boy had managed to take up most of the leg room, so Ginoza had to stick his leg out rather awkwardly into the aisle.

Instinctively, he flexed his toes inside his shoes as he was wont to do when he was nervous. The material had torn slightly but Ginoza couldn’t bring himself to throw them away. They were also a gift from his mother. One day, they’d just arrived in the mail, signed from her, and since then, he’d never taken them off, almost like they were a good luck sign. _How long has it been?_

Bored of what lay outside the window, Ginoza’s eyes scanned the dingy cabin at the remaining students. Most of them had been chatting since they set out from Kokusai, excited at the prospect of a school trip, but none of them were particularly pleased about the fact the bus ride was taking place overnight, which was probably cheaper for the school, as Sasayama had duly pointed out before calling the finance department of the school a bunch of cheap bastards. Feeling somewhat tired, Ginoza hoped they’d settle when they were out of the city. If not, he could always jam in his earphones and block them out whilst he had a nap, but he did have to be careful – waking up after a night of uncomfortable rest usually meant he’d got a pain somewhere. For the time being though, he occupied himself just looking at the rest of his class.

Towards the front of the bus and harassing the teacher, Mr. Okutama, was Shimotsuki Mika (Girls #14), the class representative and a member of the school council – titles which she took every opportunity to flaunt – and her group, which could have been decreed popular. Amongst them was Mika’s closest friends Kawarazaki Kagami (Girls #06) and Okubo Yoshika (Girls #20). It was a tragic trio indeed, Ginoza thought. He’d only realised after Sasayama pointed it out, but Shimotsuki had a huge crush on Kagami, who had a huge crush on Yoshika, who had a huge crush on Oryo Rikako (Girls #07), a prominent member of the art club. After that, Sasayama had made bets with nearly everyone in class when there would be a catfight – Ginoza bet that there would never be anything of the sort, and thus far he’d been correct. Sat with them also was Kirino Tohko (Girls #03), who seemed to be taking pictures of the scenes outside, and the quiet Kuzuhara Satsuki (Girls #08), a girl who Ginoza had never heard say anything, and simply just followed Tohko around most of the time.

Rikako was sat by herself, pencil poised over paper, and Ginoza didn’t even want to think about what she was drawing; from what he’d seen, depending on her mood, they could be quite unnerving. Even the class rep found her unsettling, but she didn’t go so far as to fear her like most did.

The first row behind the driver’s seat was occupied by Amari Hina (Girls #15) and Torii Tsubasa (Girls #04), both of whom were laughing inaudibly at some joke or the other – hardly surprising, since Amari was the class clown. From where he was looking, it seemed as though the two were holding hands, and Sasayama had bet one of his goofy friends that they were totally dating, but his friend seemed to think they were just excellent friends. Briefly, Ginoza wondered what it was that Amari had said for Torii to laugh so hard, but knowing how reserved the other girl was, it could have been anything.

Most of Ginoza’s view of one side of the bus had been blocked by Tougane Sakuya (Boys #17), who one would class as the largest in the class, despite being three centimetres shorter than Ginoza himself. Somehow, he just took up space where Ginoza didn’t. Tougane had very few friends, and most were in other classes, and was known to have a very dark sense of humour accompanied by a cruel imagination. He was enough to creep out even the angry class leader, and sometimes Rikako. Personally, Ginoza stayed out of his way and drew no attention to himself.

Obviously, the jocks – Waku Yoshitoshi (Boys #19), Kurata Naoto (Boys #20) and Kozuki Ryogo (Boys #09) - sat together, a little in front of Ginoza on the opposite side of the bus. Ginoza had once played alongside them and used to be good friends with Kozuki until the two simply drifted as what little motivation Ginoza had for the game dried up and he stopped attending practice.

To pass the time, Sasayama had taken to dragging him to the music club, saying it was a good way to meet people after Ginoza mentioned he used to play piano. Once they actually got to the music club, it was evident that Sasayama was only there to stare at the women of the club (thus earning himself nearly an hour of glaring from his bespectacled friend). Fortunately, the lead guitarist, Kunizuka Yayoi (Girls #09), and the lead vocalist, Takizaki Rina (Girls #12) had socked him one. Automatically, his eyes scanned the bus cabin to find them, and they were sat together, Yayoi intently scanning a magazine and Rina inspecting her fingernails. Ginoza remembered he had let it slip that he’d ‘joined’ the music club (though he did very little but give the place a bit of a clean now and then), his father had stared at him sternly and asked what kind of music they played, to which Ginoza replied that it was just music off the charts. It wasn’t. It was old rock ballads, which was now classed as forbidden music. Since he was hardly comfortable with breaking the rules, Sasayama had assured him it was fine with bending the rules now and then, before sticking a sticker that read _THIS INSTRUMENT IS PROHIBITED FROM ROCK MUSIC_ on his forehead, which earned him an extra-special death glare.

A giggle erupted from behind Yayoi and his eyes swivelled to find out who. Obviously, it belonged to Karanomori Shion (Girls #05) who had the most infectious laugh Ginoza had ever heard. It was only known to a select few that Shion and Yayoi were an item; upon finding out, Sasayama had asked “Can I watch?” and received three punches for his troubles. He saw Shion’s blonde hair shaking with silent laughter. Shion was somewhat of a sensation in Kokusai High, known for her excellent computer skills, and though her grades were average in most subjects, there was very little that Karanomori didn’t know, even what people would believe to be unobtainable information, and she’d be ready to supply advice on hand. Despite this, she wasn’t in anyway arrogant. In short, she was a good person. Beside her was Kagari Shuusei (Boys #12), one of the class clowns and Sasayama’s comedic rival, and Ginoza hazarded a guess one of his quips had set Shion off, and even Yayoi was sniggering slightly. Takizaki just rolled her eyes.

On the row behind the pair was Teppei Sugo (Boys #05), who had curled himself into a ball on the aisle seat, mimicking his partner Hinakawa Sho (Boys #02). Teppei was reading a paperback, and Sho playing with his phone almost frantically. Normally, Teppei was a taciturn kind of guy, but once Ginoza struck up a conversation, he found the guy to be pleasant and somewhat timid, and Hinakawa was just as nice, if not overwhelmingly shy. Once you got Hinakawa talking, he was bright-eyed and interesting, and knew almost as much about computers as Shion. Ginoza could make out that it was Sugo’s beloved book on machinery, but that book, he knew for a fact, would most likely be frowned on since it was from out of the country. If the police caught him with it, he’d likely be fined a hefty sum. Which was why people were a lot more furtive with their rule-bending, like Yayoi’s endless supply of stickers which incorrectly announced she proudly played a total of 0 rock songs on her guitar.

Towards the back of the bus were the group of delinquents who were less secretive about their crimes, and even flaunted it like a thing to be proud of. Their group was more of a hierarchy, with Kanehara Yuji (Boys #04), Masatake Mido (Boys #08) and Junmei Ito (Boys #14) forming the minions, and Gu-Sung Choe (Boys #10) being the right-hand man to their leader, who Ginoza couldn’t quite see clearly, but he did a flash of white hair, meaning that Makishima Shougo was close by (Boys #13). Of course he was there; how else did he keep his minions in check? Still, why he’d bothered turning up was a mystery to Ginoza; surely the great Makishima (always said with heavy sarcasm) couldn’t deem such a childish trip as worth his while? Many rumours flew around about this enigmatic boy – he took on local yakuza, his father was a billionaire, he was a bastard child – which Ginoza had never been interested enough to look into. Other people’s affairs weren’t his business. His grades were the best in class, so much so that the smartest girl in class, Kiyoka Tedzuka (Girls #20) had to spend all of her free time studying to even compete against him, and he excelled whenever he was forced to participate in gym class. In short, he’d be classed as the perfect man in the eyes of the government. So how did a perfect man wind up leading a bunch of wannabe criminals? Ginoza had always sensed something… _off_ with the boy, but never laid his finger on the truth. It was like… _something_ was… _lacking_.

Somehow, he wound up staring absent-mindedly at the ceiling, thinking about things, when a sunny voice pulled him out of his reverie. From the seat across the aisle, Tsunemori Akane (Girls #01) was offering something edible – cookies – from a Tupperware box. From what Ginoza knew, Akane spent most of her time with the other girls in the class, not belonging to any particular group, but her best friends would likely be Funahara Yuki (Girls #11) and Minase Kaori (Girls #10), a giggly pair who thrived off gossip. Akane and Ginoza were both fairly intelligent individuals, and even Ginoza struggled keeping up with her at times, and as a result, the two spoke often – she’d come to hang around in the music room more and more often.

Raising his eyebrows in question, Ginoza stared at the box. Somewhat flustered, Akane explained. “My grandmother made them today and they’re just extras I have. They’re no good stale, so, um, you and Sasayama can have them, if you’d like.”

Listening in, Sasayama butted in before Ginoza had the slightest chance to speak. “Really?! Nice! I’m sure they’ll taste great!” He snatched the box and dug in, before loudly announcing how excellent they were at the top his lungs, earning him several glares, the most predominant from Ginoza himself.

Ginoza delicately extracted a cookie from the box and took a bite. “You said they’d be no good stale?”

“Yeah,” Akane pursed her lips, frowning.

“You must have been pretty confident they were any good in the first place,” he said, and Akane’s face transformed into a pout, and he couldn’t help but smile. “I’m joking with you. These are really nice.”

“Thanks,” she smiled, genuinely pleased at the compliment.

Ginoza’s eyes flicked to the box and widened as he snatched the box from Sasayama. “Will you slow down?! If you eat them all, Tsunemori won’t get to have any!” he shoved the box into Akane’s face, and she retracted slightly before gently pushing them back.

“It’s okay. You two eat them.” On her face was a perfect fixed smile, and Ginoza couldn’t tell if she was just being nice or if she was being genuine.

“Are you sure? It hardly seems fair-”

Just then, he saw who was sat next to Akane, eyes closed, arms folded and leaning against the glass ( _surely that can’t be comfortable?_ ). It was Kougami Shinya (Boys #16), hair stuck up at odd angles but somehow not looking messy. This boy was almost as a big enigma as Makishima Shougo; he’d transferred in almost two months beforehand, and Kougami had revealed absolutely nothing about himself; he didn’t even bother with his classmates, and buried himself in dozens of paperbacks. From time to time, Ginoza saw Makishima throwing a few cool glances at Kougami. Once, Ginoza had tried to break through the shell he’d put around himself by talking about books.

“Proust?” he’d enquired upon seeing the author of the transfer student’s latest book. “I haven’t seen any of his books on the shelves.”

“Of course you haven’t. He’s on the blacklist.”

“Oh. Have you read any Tolstoy?”

“He’s alright.”

After that, Ginoza had given up. Due to his mysterious nature, rumours circulated Kougami Shinya, and what little Ginoza had heard wasn’t great. Apparently, the boy was nothing but a thug, on the run from his old yakuza gang, and scars that littered his body proved as such. There was a slash just on the side of his face that was evidently from a knife of some kind, and Ginoza had seen various scrapes on the youth’s back and arms – and not only that, Kougami Shinya looked like he could punch concrete and still be alright. On one of his shoulders were two round marks of unknown origin _(“I bet he got shot.” “Shut up, Sasayama.”_ ) On top of that, there were rumours that Makishima and Kougami would inevitably fight (once again, Ginoza had made a bet with Sasayama it would never happen), but the two kept apart, so Kokusai continued on in peace. However, Ginoza preferred not to judge people from rumour, and chose to base judgements on what he saw with his own eyes. As his father once said: “If you see it with your own eyes, you don’t need to listen to what anyone else says.”

“Is he asleep?” he nodded at Kougami now, and Akane gazed at him curiously.

“I think so,” she said without much conviction, “I didn’t really want to disturb him.”

“Tsunemori!” Sasayama pushed Ginoza out of the way. “Do you have a marker on you?!”

“Why do you want a marker?”

“Duh! I’m gonna doodle on his face. What d’ya think?!” he sounded so childish, and Ginoza glared at him. “I was thinking a huge dick.”

“No, thanks,” a fourth voice interrupted, and Sasayama and Tsunemori gazed at Kougami in amazement; probably because it was the first time they’d heard him speak. Tsunemori glanced from Ginoza to Kougami before shrugging and helping herself to a cookie. After that, she, Ginoza and Sasayama kept talking, and Kougami kept on listening in, or so he thought.

*

It was just after eleven that Ginoza realised something was wrong. Beside him, Sasayama snored obnoxiously loudly, and Ginoza was tempted to shove a cookie in his mouth to shut him up. Karanomori Shion’s heavily made up face was leaning into the aisle, mouth agape and eyes closed. Even Akane had curled up and closed her eyes.

Worst of all, Ginoza’s body felt numb. In his stupor, he tried to move his head, which seemed to weigh too much, far too much that it flopped uselessly on the backrest. In the mirror at the front of the bus, he could see the driver’s face covered by what seemed to be a gas mask, the kind you’d find on aeroplanes. Was the air inside unbreathable?

From the right came a scratching noise, and Ginoza, with commendable effort, leaned forward to see what it was. It was like swimming through jelly.

Shakily, Kougami Shinya had pushed himself from his seat and was trying to undo the window, a thing Ginoza probably should have thought about doing, but for whatever reason, it seemed welded shut. This didn’t seem to deter Kougami, who took to punching the glass with his remaining strength. Even that wasn’t enough to shatter it. Eventually his arm fell slack, and Kougami slumped in his chair.

As his eyes fell shut, he thought he heard Kougami say: “Dammit.”

*

Around that time, families were roused awake by unexpected visitors. Parents must have all been shocked into senselessness, called to their doors in the middle of the night and handed an official looking document directly from the government.

A majority of them would nod dumbly, close the door as if a marionette on a string and think about the loved ones it was likely they’d never see. Some would lash out, only to be beaten unconscious with a single blow, or if they were less fortunate, shot, taken from the world just before their beloved children.

Masaoka Tomomi nodded gravely, accepted the letter, and waited for the government officials to speed off to the next family. Gathering his courage, he packed a small bag containing his old school revolver, a picture of his wife and enough money to take him to anywhere he so wished. But he had only one destination in mind as he made his way into the heart of Tokyo.

*

The bus taking the third years on their trip had long since abandoned the route to their destination and had been driven to the docks. Once the engine had been cut, the only sound to hear was the dappling waves crashing into concrete. The driver looked at the children with a hint of pity and sorrow in his eyes, before unlocking the doors and allowing men in military outfits to carry them off-board, and took to staring at the sky, praying to any god out there willing to forgive him.

Beneath the moon’s all-encompassing glare, the players were taken to their stadium.

**42 PLAYERS BEGIN.**


	2. Careless Talk Costs Lives

For a split second, Ginoza thought he’d been sleeping in his classroom as he slowly lifted his head. In his stupor, he was internally celebrating – he’d fallen asleep in class and hadn’t been caught for it! Sasayama always napped in class and was always caught, and always got a pen aptly thrown at him by the teacher.

Blinking away the remnants of slumber, he realised that he wasn’t in his classroom, though it did have a podium and a grubby whiteboard, as well as a large screen TV bolted to the wall. On the corner of his desk, someone had carved in an anti-government message with what seemed to be a penknife: _Leader Sibyl is hot for women in uniform. How childish_ , Ginoza thought, thinking immediately of Sasayama. It seemed his kind of humour, if it could even be classed that. Oh, right, Sasayama. Where was he?

In the classroom, the students of Third Year Class Three were sat at their desks, slumped over haphazardly, all slumbering. To the left and a little forward, close to the centre of the room was Sasayama Mitsuru, and Tsunemori Akane just a little behind him. Ginoza sleepily checked his watch – the date had shifted to the next day, and it seemed to be around four in the morning. He’d been sleeping for about five hours.

Something was strange.

Something was very strange.

Something was very wrong.

And then he found it, in the form of what seemed to be a metal band sitting snugly on Tsunemori’s neck, peeking out from her uniform. Automatically, his eyes leapt from classmate to classmate, finding a similar band – _like a collar_ , he thought with a shudder – and his hand reached for his own throat to close around something cool. Looking from side to side, to make sure nobody was looking at him, he gave it a tug this way and that, but it seemed firmly closed. Since discovering its existence, he felt as though it was suffocating him. _I’m no dog, dammit!_ He refused to give up that easily and fidgeted with it for five minutes longer before rolling his eyes and accepting his fate. But the first opportunity he got to take it off, he would.

What happened to the school trip? Speaking from experience, generally travel companies didn’t drug passengers. Bad for business. His feet were resting on the bag he’d been packing for a week with whatever he thought he’d need. Once he was on the bus he realised his father had slipped in his lucky flask in there too, filled with bourbon. At that, Ginoza had rolled his eyes in irritation. His father should know that he liked being perfectly teetotal, but maybe he could pass it around his group of friends for them to drink. It seemed everybody else had their belongings. _Well, at the very least, we haven’t been mugged_ , he thought, trying the optimism shit his father was an adamant believer in.

Suddenly, the doors slid open, snapping him from any pretences of happy thoughts, and Ginoza’s eyes flickered to the entrance. A smart-dressed woman stepped in, her short heels clacking on the hard floor. She was alone.

For a lady she was quite tall, with her silver hair in a short style, but something about her seemed very cold, from the way she glared at the slumbering students. On her dress she wore a blue badge announcing she was part of the government. Briskly, she stalked across the classroom and situated herself at the teachers of the podium, the discontented expression never leaving her face as she looked over her class less than fondly. Finally, her eyes found Ginoza, the only person who even seemed to be awake at this point. For a whole minute, the two stared placidly at each other, and Ginoza refused to even drop his gaze unless this woman gave him a good solid explanation as to what the hell was going on.

Slowly and awkwardly, the others began to stir, eyes unfocused on much of anything, and Sasayama raised his head to find Ginoza – he often did whenever he fell asleep in class. Usually when this happened, Ginoza lifted his exercise book to tell him what lesson they were even in, and he’d nod in reply and fall asleep again. Idiot. This time, Ginoza pointed at the collar on his own neck, and Sasayama raised his hands in panic to the band, scrambling at it, trying to get it off as Ginoza had done. Tsunemori Akane had turned around to face him, and that was when he dropped his gaze. For some reason, he felt a tad guilty.

At last, the woman spoke, her voice distantly reminiscent of nails down a chalkboard. “Are you all awake? Did you sleep well?” Nobody said anything. Not even the class clowns, Kagari Shuusei and Amari Hina. “I see,” the woman responded drily. “I suppose you are all awaiting an explanation.” Another silence. “I see. My name is Kasei Joshuu, and I am your new… instructor.” She seemed to be choosing her words carefully, and Ginoza was very, very suspicious. Tsunemori’s eyes were narrowed too; she smelt a rat. Like a machine, she turned stiffly to the board and wrote her name in perfect kanji on the board.

Shimotsuki Mika stood up, letting her chair clatter to the floor. “I don’t get it.” All eyes swivelled to her. Though barely perceptible, she was shaking slightly, and her fists were balled at her sides. _Scared. Angry. Maybe both_ , Ginoza thought. “What’s going on? We were just on our school trip. Isn’t that right?”

The question had triggered an outburst.

“Where the hell are we?!”

“Did you sleep too?!”

“Hey, do you know what day it is?! What time is it?!”

“Were we knocked out?!”

“Somebody drugged us!”

“Shit, I don’t have a watch! Does anybody have one?!”

“Do you remember getting off the bus and coming here? Because I sure don’t!”

“Who’s that bitch at the front?”

“Something’s off here. What’s going on?”

“I’m s-s-scared.”

The woman, Kasei, had stopped talking to listen to the questions and exclamations. Like Ginoza, a few students remained silent, not adding to the hysteria. One was Makishima Shougo, who was staring levelly at Kasei with a silent dislike in his eyes; all the while he ignored the lackeys yelling around him. The second was Oryo Rikako, her eyes staring off into space again, arms folded. Towards the back, Kougami Shinya wasn’t talking to his frightened classmates and was glaring with more than hatred at Kasei, and Ginoza wondered precisely why. Kougami knew something. But what? On his desk, his hands were curled into fists so tightly the knuckles were white. Tsunemori was also quiet, but she was staring steadfastly at Ginoza and not their teacher. Her eyes, though placid, hid a muted fear. Despite the fear curling in his gut, Ginoza managed a tiny smile at Tsunemori, and she seemed to relax only slightly. A small part of him wanted to reach over and hold her hand, but another, larger part of him gently reminded him that perhaps now wasn’t the time.

“Quiet!” Kasei’s voice set Ginoza’s teeth on edge, and a shudder went down his spine. Everyone fell silent, staring dumbly at her. “I will explain. You have arrived at this destination for one reason, and one reason only.”

Breathing felt nearly impossible.

“Today, you will kill each other.”

As if one of Rikako’s freaky still-life drawings, the students froze, like their bodies were made of plastic. Everyone that was, except for Kougami, who released his fists, and furrowed his eyebrows. The look in his eyes made Ginoza flinch a little bit. It seemed as though he wanted to tear Kasei apart. Not that Ginoza would stop him, mind you. It would mean he could try and escape from here. “Your class has been selected by Lady Sibyl herself, as part of the Defence Trials.”

Hinakawa Sho burst into loud tears, and Teppei Sugo patted him awkwardly on the back.

Everyone had heard of the Defence Trials. It was a common threat among high schoolers throughout the country (“ _I hope you get chosen this year!_ ”) Occasionally it had popped into conversation with Sasayama.

_“Who’d you think would win, if we got chosen for the Trials?” he’d asked, sounding pretty gloomy about it._

_“I’d say one of the people who can fight. You’d have a good chance,” Ginoza said, trying to feign disinterest. “But you wouldn’t win.”_

_“What about you?”_

_“I could run and hide, but if I got in a fight, it really would be the end.”_

_“Huh. Well, I hope it’s not us. To another year of life!” He’d pretended to raise a glass, and Ginoza had shook his head._

For two years, he was safe, and he’d felt very confident that he’d never have to enrol in it. Boy, had that backfired. Life for the lone survivor was peachy; the government gave you anything you’d ever wanted on a silver platter, and that was it. You’d never work a day in your life. But what kind of happiness could be found if it was built on murder?

“That simply can’t be!” a shrill voice called out, and all heads craned again. It was Touma Kozauro (Boys #15), the heir to a very rich family. Touma was smart; perhaps he could offer some good explanation. _Kill the people here that are our friends. No way in hell!_ “My family has various politicians in every government sector imaginable. So this class should not be eligible.”

“You are Touma, correct?” Kasei stood straighter, making her presence even more intimidating. “Since I am your teacher, a lesson in equality may be in order. In the eyes of Sibyl, all people are born equal. Just because your family works for the government does not mean that it applies to you. Whether you are rich or poor is not of any import to Sibyl. What does matter is what personal contributions you make to our progressive society.”

 _What is she, a pre-recorded message?_ Ginoza thought.

“Allow me to make this clear to you, Touma. You shall not think that you alone are special any longer,” she slammed her hand on the desk. “Because you are not!” Touma sat down heavily and stared at his shined shoes. “You will all likely be on the news tomorrow morning, yet no details will be announced until the Defence Trial is over.” Kasei continued, as though she had gone interrupted. “Your parents and close relatives have all been informed.”

 _We have to kill each other?_ Everyone was staring at their friends – and possibly their enemies. _Who’s going to kill me? Who am I going to kill?_

Ginoza had little time for these thoughts. _My plan is to escape. I don’t want to kill, but I hardly want to die. What’s important is that I escape. With Tsunemori and Sasayama… and Karanomori and Kagari and Kunizuka, too. But what happens during the Trials? The details are hardly public – dammit, I knew I should have asked Dad whilst I had the chance! We’re given weapons to brutally slaughter each other with, but can we even talk to each other? Does Lady Sibyl watch us? Monitor us? Good God, that’s disturbing._

“Hey, lady. Kasei, or whatever your name was,” Sasayama had raised his hand, and lowered it at Kasei’s piercing gaze. “Uh. I don’t have parents. I live with my sister.”

Kasei stared at the desk, and flipped through the class roster that seemed to be there. “You must be Sasayama Mitsuru, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Your sister is Sasayama Mari.”

“Yeah.”

“She was rather opposed to your coming here, I am afraid to say, Mitsuru,” Kasei’s cheeks lifted in the ghost of a smile, but there was nothing remotely happy about it. Judging from Sasayama’s face, it made him very worried. It made Ginoza worried too. He’d met Mari a few times, and she was indeed very kind-hearted, and her brother’s support. The two kept each other alive at times.

“What… What the fuck does that mean?” Sasayama was using anger to cover his fear, but he was doing very little in fooling anyone that he wasn’t scared.

“Aggressive acts against government officials is punishable by death,” Kasei said it like she was talking about the weather. Sasayama felt like someone had just punched through his stomach.

“You…” he trailed off, and stood up, as Shimotsuki Mika had done. “You fucking killed my little sister?!”

“Not me personally. But she was killed for defiance against the government.”

“That’s bullshit! All of this is just… fucking bullshit!” he threw his arm out, indicating around the room. If Mari was ever hurt, Sasayama’s reaction would be more than vicious, Ginoza knew. “I fucking hate you! I’m gonna fucking tear you to shreds! I’m gonna kill you, and don’t you dare fucking regret it! I’m gonna make you pay for what you fucking did, you bitch!”

“Oh?” Kasei arched an eyebrow in interest. “Do you really mean all of that, Sasayama? People ought to take responsibility for what they say. Careless talk costs lives, you are aware. Your sister learned that the hard way, unfortunately.”

“I am going to fucking kill you!”

“Sasayama! Shut up!” Ginoza couldn’t think of anything else to say; he just needed Sasayama to be quiet.

Kasei’s voice turned somewhat soothing. “You and your sister are alike. Mainly in your need to defy the government.”

This did very little in deterring Sasayama. “I’ll fucking kill you! I’ll murder you! Die a thousand times!”

Ginoza’s patience was at an end – as was Kasei’s, so it seemed. She pulled a strange device, almost like a smartphone, out of her pocket, and typed something agonizingly slowly on the screen as Sasayama continued hurling death threats.

On his neck, the collar began to flash red. A warning. Sasayama paused and looked down at it in horror, and looked at his best friend, a plea for help in his eyes.

“Gino-!” His cry was cut short as around his neck as a loud bang sounded out. Ginoza shielded his eyes (coward, coward, coward) and opened them to find Sasayama’s body juddering disgustingly, eyes wide and rolling into his skull. His body slammed onto Sugawara Shouko’s (Girls #13) desk, and she gave a small shriek of terror. After that, an ugly silence descended on the remaining students, save for Sasayama’s choked cries as his shaking fingers reached desperately for the collar, trying to rip it off. A pool of blood was forming around Sasayama’s skull, and those eyes, those awful empty eyes kept looking at Ginoza. Blaming him.

Almost as loud as a gunshot, Sasayama’s hands clattered to the floor, his struggles for life in vain.

**41 PLAYERS REMAIN.**


End file.
